About this title: In HEART OF DARKNESS, Conrad's most existential hero, Marlow, is the commander of a riverboat looking for ivory to trade in the Belgian Congo. His journey into the heart of the Congo is both a thrilling adventure and a symbolic excursion into the depths of the human psyche to confront the evil that exists there. Marlow's encounter with the mysterious and corrupted Kurtz, who dies proclaiming the "horror" of what he found in the Congo, is the novel's defining moment, when Marlow recognizes his kinship with Kurtz's corruption. This insight enables Marlow to retreat from Kurtz's world and return ...
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Edition: Rev ed.
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Date Published: 1981
ISBN-13:9780393097733ISBN:0393097730
Description: Good. No dust jacket as issued. extensive highlighting and underlining. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 267 p. Audience: General/trade. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Date Published: 1987
ISBN-13:9780393955521ISBN:0393955524
Description: Very Good. Moderate cover wear with scuffing to edges and creasing. GoodwillnyBooks is committed to providing each customer with the highest standard of customer service. You may return new items within 30 days of delivery for a full refund. read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: WW Norton & Co
Date Published: 1981
ISBN-13:9780393097733ISBN:0393097730
Description: A good reading copy only. May have underlining or highlighting throughout. Book has tanning or browning due to normal aging process. -, Trade PaperBack, Good / read more
Description: Good. Light shelf wear and minimal interior marks. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Description: Fair. Ex-Library book-will contain library markings. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Description: Good. Light shelf wear and minimal interior marks. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Description: Good. Light shelf wear and minimal interior marks. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Description: Acceptable. Shows definite wear, and perhaps considerable marking on inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Description: Good. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Description: Good. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
"It was a breathtaking read. There are few books which make such a powerful impression as 'Heart of darkness' does. Written more than a century ago, the book and its undying theme hold just as much significance even today. Intense and compelling, it looks into the darkest recesses of human nature. Conrad takes the reader through a horrific tale in a very gripping voice.
I couldn't say enough about Conrad's mastery of prose. Not a single word is out of place. Among several things, I liked Marlow expressing his difficulty in sharing his experiences with his listeners and his comments on insignificance of some of the dialogue exchanged aloud between him and Kurtz. The bond between the two was much deeper. Whatever words he uses to describe them, no one can really understand in full measure what he had been through. In Marlow's words, ". . . No, it is impossible; it is impossible to convey the life-sensation of any given epoch of one's existence--that which makes its truth, its meaning--its subtle and penetrating essence. It is impossible. We live, as we dream--alone. . . ."
This was the first time I read this book which doesn't seem enough to fathom its profound meaning and all the symbolism. It deserves multiple reads."
"I think this was a little over my head, apparently Conrad spoke like a half-dozen languages so maybe I lost something in the translation because I only speak one and 1/4. I got the main themes of imperialism, racism, the thin line between civilization and barbarism, but as for any specific thing that was happening in the book while I was reading, I'm really at a loss for. I did like "Apocalypse Now" though, for what it's worth."
"I'm sure there are many redeeming qualities and philosophies to be absorbed from this book. However, it really is the absolutely most boring read I have ever attempted to undertake. I should probably give it another chance before condemning it to 2 stars...but, this book seriously made my mind drift away to unrelated places and topics more frequently than any other book I can remember. I would almost rather read Shakespeare backwards on a rollercoaster than pick this one up again."
"When I was a child, my father caught me frowning at a very small gift wrapped package I'd received. The dashed hopes for a larger package were broadcast across my face.
"Dynamite comes in small packages." My father counseled me. The literal and figurative truth of this statement has revealed itself throughout my life.
This story is specifically relevant to Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness. It is a small book. (Surprisingly small.) And it is pure dynamite. (Super powerful dynamite!)
Conrad later wrote he wanted to "bring home" the experience of Heart of Darkness to "the minds and bosoms of the readers." He succeeded. Big time.
Heart of Darkness is a masterpiece. Divided into three sections, it is one of the greatest creations of English literature I've had the pleasure to read.
The experience of reading Heart of Darkness is akin to listening to an emotionally moving work of music. It's somber theme has a sinister resonance. Its unique tone and continued vibration hangs in the air and dwells on the ear after the last note is struck. (Reading Heart of Darkness conjured in my mind the eight hand final piano chord of A Day In The Life: shocking, dark, contemplative and endless.)
After reading Adam Hochschild's King Leopold's Ghost I appreciated for the first time the historical context for this novel. In light of that, I felt compelled to re-read Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness. And I am very glad I did. This is a genuinely great book."
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